Game



Nov. 23, 1943. D. D. BARKIN 2,335,099 GAME Filed Nov. 19, 1940 Patented Nov. 23, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to games and the object is to provide instrumentalities of novel structural characteristics by the use of which a group may play an entertaining and instructive word-building game involving elements of chance and skill and of pleasing competitive character.

My invention will be well understood by reierence to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, whereiny Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multiplicity of playing elements as used in the game assembled in the form of a pad;

Fig. 2 is a plan of one playing element such as might be considered as just removed from the pad of Fig. l; and

Figs. 3 to 6 are playing elements as they might appear after the completion of a game by four players.

I provide a set of playing elements, each in the form of a checkered blank, each herein being shown as inscribed with a square sub-divided into sixteen smaller squares. These elements are conveniently in the form of paper slips to permit direct inscription thereon in the course of the game and permitting their being thereafter discarded. When slips of paper are used, they may be assembled in a pad or block p as shown in Fig. 1, which pad may comprise one or more sets. While I have described the various playing elements as blanks, they are, however, partially filled in with letters, for example, two of the squares in each having letters initially formed thereon, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The elements of a set are structurally differentiated among themselves by the fact that the letters which appear thereon are more or less heterogeneous in their selection or in their position or both on the different elements. Thus, the element shown in Fig. 2 has the letter L in the second space from the left in the top row and the letter W in the last space from the left in the third row from the top, while the element appearing uppermost in Fig. 1 has the letter A in the second space from the left in the bottom row and the letter S in the fourth space from the left in the second row from the top.

The general object of the game is for the various players, each provided with an initially partially lled in element which is different from those in the hands of his competitors, to ll in the complete array of squares with additional letters and thereby to form as many words vertical or horizontal as possible, four-letter words in the case illustrated, the letters used being selected by the players in turn and the other players being free to adopt and use the letters chosen and announced or not to do so as they see fit. When the squares of any one player are completely lled in, the gaine ends and that player (not necessarily the same as the one whose blank is lled) who has completed the greatest number of four-letter words horizontal or Vertical is the winner.

The game may be more completely understood by reference to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustrating the elements or slips as they might appear after the completion of a game played by four players. The letters made with a narrow line represent manuscript inscriptions made by the players in the course of the game. The inscriptions 1st, 2nd, etc., in these gures are in the nature of reference numerals and identify the first or second letter announced or chosen in the course of the game, and so on. Where these inscriptions are underlined on the drawing they indicate that the choice of that letter was made by the player holding the playing slip so marked.

Thus in the beginning of the game the first player (Fig. 4) announced the letter A, inscribing it on his slip beneath the letter L, having in mind possibly the formation of the word LAST or the word LATE or the Word LANE, which last as a matter of fact was finally formed. The second player also adopted this letter A announced by the first player, placing it in line with the letter S already on his slip, having in mind perhaps such words as ALAS or ARMS. Thus each of the four players utilized the rst six letters announced, but the fourth player (Fig. 6) did not see any use which he could make of the seventh letter O announced by the third player (Fig. 5) and passed over it so that there is no letter marked 7th on Fig. 6.

When the third player (Fig. 5) announced the letter U in the fifteenth play of the game, completing the word ONUS vertically (or he might have chosen I to make EDIT horizontally), his slip was completely lled in and the game ended. However, although the third player irst lled in all the squares, he is not the winner because he has made only five complete words, whereas the rst player, although having one square blank, has nevertheless made six words. The maximum score is eight words such as would be shown in Fig. 1 if the blank square were filled in with an N.

Obviously the game may be played by any number of players, two, three, four or more. For example, two playing elements differing among themselves would, of course, constitute a set for in other specific forms without departing from* the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to beconsidered in all respects as illustrativeY andnct restrictive; reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

I claim:

l. Game apparatus comprisinga set of inscribable chequered blanks, certainbutnot all of the spaces of each blank each being lled by a single letter, the remaining spaces being empty, at least certain of the letters on one blank being different from those on another.

2. Game apparatus comprising a set of inscribable chequered blanks, certain -but not all of the spaces of each blank each being filled by a single letter, the remaining spaces being empty, at least certain of the letters on one blank being diierent from those on another and diierently positioned.

3. Garne apparatus comprising a set of inscribable chequered blanks, certain but not all of the spaces of each blank each being lled by a single letter, theremaining spaces being empty, at least certain of` the letters on one blank being pesitioned inspaces differently `located from those of another blank.

DAVID D. BARKIN. 

